The new 580K was put through its paces at the Case proving grounds in Burlington, Iowa, in comparison to the Case 580 Super E. Both units were equipped with 24-inch (610 mm) backhoe buckets.

Performance tests show that the new Case 580K is almost 20 percent better than the 580SE, measured in cubic yards per gallon doing five-foot (1.5 m) trenching. The improvement shoots up to almost 24 percent doing 10-foot (3.0 m) trenching. Though the 580K was faster than the 580SE in performing basement excavation into piles, it used more fuel, thus making cubic yards per gallon almost equal.